A sluggish first half, some adjustments at the break, then a masterful second period: France managed to turn around a tough match against a solid and well-organised opponent.
Didier Deschamps will no doubt find the right tweaks in the coming days, as he so often does in tournaments. But this morning, the main thing lies elsewhere: Les Bleus won where others have stumbled, and did so in style, building momentum and sending out a strong message.
“France win because they completely changed their approach after the break,” Guillaume Hoarau summed up.
“This team has huge attacking potential. We believe in them!” And that’s the main lesson from this match: when they get going, the French team can break down any defence.
Mbappe, Michael, Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue, then Bradley Barcola and Rayan Cherki: in the second half, Les Bleus completely tore apart Pape Thiaw’s defensive block thanks to their attacking arsenal.
While the breakthrough initially came from a moment of individual brilliance – Olise’s pass, Mbappe’s run – Deschamp’s men then produced their best football.
Adjustments? Trust in Deschamps
“As a former number 9, I can tell you that a striker lives off the quality of the connections around him. When the balls come quicker, when the runs are spotted earlier, everything becomes easier," Guillaume Hoarau said.
"And with players like Mbappe, Dembele or Olise, if you give them space and confidence, they’re extremely hard to defend against.”
Individual brilliance unlocks the collective: that first goal opened the floodgates and the performance became a team display, epitomised by the second goal where Adrien Rabiot sent Barcola through, who finished superbly with a delightful chip.
But the first half had been hard going. When a team is struggling, it’s often the midfield that’s at fault – they’re the ones who need to relieve the pressure and restart play.
France’s lack of control in the first half leaves a few questions for the future, especially regarding the Aurelien Tchouameni-Rabiot double pivot chosen by Deschamps.
“There’s always room for improvement,” Hoarau explained.
“In the first half, we wondered about that Tchouameni-Rabiot double pivot – but in the end, what a magnificent pass from Rabiot!
"Once the team was freed emotionally after the first goal, everything flowed better. You have to understand Deschamps: with four attackers, you have to compensate and keep the balance.
"We’ll see how it goes as the tournament progresses, but for a first match, the nerves… we’ll take it! We don’t have Vitinha, do we (laughs).”
“If this team can shake off the emotional weight of ‘we’re favourites, we have to live up to it’ and really enjoy themselves on the pitch… they could be very, very dangerous.
"That has to come from the players, because Deschamps won’t change his principles. For me, it’s really a mental thing: when France dominate a match emotionally, they can suffocate anyone."
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Mbappe breaks records, Hoarau hails the performance
If there’s one thing to take away from this opening match, it’s Mbappe’s performance. After a tricky first half, the French captain raised his game in the second.
The Real Madrid player also scored what is already the goal of the tournament: a 35-yard strike that left Senegal with no chance, just after they had pulled one back.
His brace takes his World Cup tally to 14 goals, just two behind Miroslav Klose and Lionel Messi (16), the record holders.
Above all, he officially becomes the top scorer in the history of the French national team with 58 goals, overtaking Giroud’s 57.
“You must always trust Mr Mbappe!” Hoarau said. “His first half wasn’t exceptional. Many would have disappeared from the game.
"But he kept making runs, asking for the ball, taking players on. And by persevering, he turned the match around. That’s what makes the very best players.”
I think these goals will do him a world of good mentally. You could sense he was desperate to score; it was so important for him to start this tournament well and shake off any nerves.”
